House OKs Hall bill to reform vets’ claims process

Thursday

Jul 31, 2008 at 2:00 AM

Michael Randall

Rep. John Hallís bill to overhaul the system through which veterans obtain benefits overwhelmingly passed the House Wednesday. Hall, D-Dover Plains, has been working on the bill for most of his term. The bill would allow wounded veterans to immediately begin receiving benefits for severe, undisputed service-related injuries, instead of waiting until all their injuries are evaluated.It also requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to convert to electronic record-keeping of all cases.